It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
I am so sorry about your recent hurricane. So sad.
I have been through my share of storms too. I’m in New Orleans.
Katrina wrecked havoc on our city in August of 2005. Storms are miserable to deal with.
My area had a Hurricane last night & my favorite city (right next to where I live) in under water now. There was a storm surge of around 9 feet, and many people have 4-5 feet of water in their houses.
People and pets are being rescued, and there's so much damage.
I live in very close to the Gulf and am saddened to see the sweetest little town that revolved around nature, gardens, tourism, wildlife preserves,& manatee preservation so badly damaged. Such nice people there, too. Always so friendly and happy to live among nature. Am so thankful that we're not hearing about injuries or deaths, but am sad about the whole situation.
There's no damage where I live as I'm not in a storm surge zone - but, am just feeling so bad about this and don't have any family to share it with. Sorry, if this post doesn't quite fit into the Gardening topic, but I thought Gardeners and nature lovers would understand.
That sounds fabulous! 😊
I am allergic to everything. I eat local honey that I buy at the farmers market. I still deal with allergies!
I find prices are going up at the farmers markets. I do enjoy going though. Lots of great vendors.
You may have to learn to use Beespeak!
Start practicing your Zzzz's and hummms! 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 You will be very bizzy!
Online mentions spraying vinegar for honeybees, to get them to move on.
Maybe a can of open vinegar nearby the entrance (not both entrances) will get them to move or make a new entrance?
One elderly old coot I met had the bees sting his hands several times to cure arthritis.
Our front veranda bees returned every year until my father rebuilt the porch. I've wondered since then why my father didn't do anything to get rid of them because all of us were stung occasionally - although now that I think of it I can't remember him ever being stung 🤔
The dog hated them, he made a sport out of chasing and killing bees 🐝
Bumblebee nests don't live for long, so the nest should die naturally within a few months. After that time, the new queens will have flown from the nest to hibernate in the soil elsewhere. It is possible that a different bumblebee queen will find and use the same hole next year.
But interesting bee behaviors.
Early spring we had a swarm of bees at the cape honeysuckle.
I was getting ready to panic (=means find a quick but maybe expensive solution) because dH is allergic to bee stings.
He said: Leave them alone, they are swarming, looking for a home, and will leave in a few days. They left.
So, I asked him what you should do about the more permanent bumblebees under your shed.
He said, leave them alone.
That means, I guess, don't go out to your shed, and stop composting for awhile?
Obviously, I don't have the answer!
Sis and BIL had a carpenter bee that decided their wooden windows were the perfect place for a nest, before I managed to capture it the tunnel got so deep I expected it to break through into the house.
I have a huge problem with carpenter bee damage. They look a lot like bumbles, but instead of having fuzzy butts, theirs look like black plastic.
You could try to grow the tree! That would be so very cool.
I am someone who does not like old, damaged, or fruit eaten by something else. And, I like to know the origin of the fruit.
My dH is the opposite.
I think it was Trader Joes or Whole Foods that might have started a market selling less than perfect fruits and veges.
I've joined the gardening group on reddit and it's crazy how so many people freak out about a little bit of insect damage or less than perfection on their fruits and veggies. When we were kids we ate the wormy apples, we'd spit out the scabby bits and if we encountered a worm we'd just toss it and get another.
Squirrel = bubonic plague
Mosquito = West Nile virus
Tick = Lyme disease
Grasshopper= maybe that's safe
Deer = carries ticks = Lyme disease
What else?
🐭 🐰 🐛 🐿 🐌 🐇 🐁 🦄 🦌🦡️
Were you sleepwalking last night?
I hung a squirrel-proof tube feeder about 40” off the ground and it was mysteriously empty in half its usual time. Turns out wild turkeys can reach the feeding holes. Gluttons.